Night Madness
Rick Pyves
A son’s tribute to his father.
The passing of his mother was a traumatic event in the life of Rick Pyves, Canadian author of Night Madness, not only because of the obvious severity of losing his mother but also because it reconnected Rick with his father’s military service history, a service which would have traumatic mental effects the man. The reconnection inspired Pyves to write an emotional and sensitive war story based on his father’s record as a tail gunner in a Canadian Royal Air Force bomber in WWII.
The book should be considered essential reading by anyone interested in or having any relationship with a WWII veteran. It is the dramatic and emotion-filled recounting of days of military service of Pyves’ father. Pyves Sr. was a tail gunner in a Canadian Royal Air Force bomber flying bombing missions over Germany in the closing stages of the war, the most devastating and lasting run being the bombing of the city of Dresden.
Pyves, the younger, dedicates his book to the memory of his father and his service but he takes it further when he dedicates it to all veterans who suffer the battle scars of their combat engagement which emotes itself in the traumatic mental personal battle known as PSTD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Pyves Sr.’s children showed the seriousness and extent of the emotional and mental suffering experienced by their father for many years after the war. Their childhood relationship with their father was never normal.
Another important intention of the book is to prod the Canadian government into developing more and better psychological and medical assistance for armed forces veterans who have suffered debilitating mental trauma because of their military service.
Consider giving your support to the cause by reading Rick Pyves’ Night Madness.
View Rick Pyves summary of his book at NIGHT MADNESS.
